ASHBURN, Va. — The Washington Commanders got Day 16 of Training Camp started with a bang by trading receiver Jahan Dotson to the Philadelphia Eagles.
On a day of practice where the Commanders‘ 2022 1st Round NFL Draft pick wasn’t present due to the trade, there’s no more impactful storyline today to start our notebook with than that.
Where does Washington go next? That’s the biggest question facing the franchise after the stunner dropped Thursday morning.
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The writing may have been on the wall for a minute now. Whether it’s scheme, personalities, or simply time for a change of scenery, the separation of Dotson and the franchise that drafted him is something that has been brewing under the surface for a little while.
Speculation about Dotson’s future really came to a head when head coach Dan Quinn told everyone the second receiver job was still open for hiring, and that nobody had secured the spot yet.
Add to that the first round receiver’s presence on the field with second team offenses in the preseason, and it seems the fact Washington and the receiver weren’t on the same page was a secret on full display.
Now, Dotson gets to go home to restart his NFL career, and he’ll do it with the benefit of All-Pro caliber teammates like receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith dominating defender attention.
Once the wound from being traded gets to heal a bit, the salve of realizing the situation he now finds himself in will help accelerate the process.
That’s the question most – if not all – Commanders fans are asking themselves this very moment. What happens next?
Entering the pre-draft process and free agency window many Washington fans wanted the team to target either a free agent or a rookie to add more spice to the receiver room. General manager Adam Peters did draft Luke McCaffrey in the third round, but he hasn’t seemed to quench the thirst outsiders have for an improved receiver room for quarterback Jayden Daniels.
With Dotson out of the picture now, it would appear to many that Terry McLaurin, Dyami Brown, Olamide Zaccheaus, and McCaffrey now represent the best that room has to offer. And it’s not good enough.
Will the team really stick with the unit it has now? Or is another player – maybe even Brandon Aiyuk – be in play here?
Most general managers tell you the first thing a team has to do on its way to being a Super Bowl champion is win its division. Or at least be competitive.
This is now twice Peters has traded within the division, and both trades have seemingly benefitted the Eagles – the team many expect to reclaim the NFC East Division title after fumbling it away at the end of last season.
It’s not as bad as helping the Dallas Cowboys, but benefiting Philadelphia as the Washington GM is a quick way to losing favor in a very intense fan base.
For now, fans are staying patient and following the ‘trust in Adam’ line, but if cornerback Cooper DeJean (the defender the Eagles drafted following a trade with the Commanders in April) and/or Dotson comes back to bite the Commanders this season, some of that patience may wear thin very quickly.
It’s a bold and brave move by Peters to deal so much with a team he’s directly competing with for an automatic bid into the NFL Playoffs. But some are wondering if it isn’t his first major misstep as an NFL general manager.
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